UFC Fight Night 32 results: Elated Thiago Tavares taps out Justin Salas in first

GOIANIA, Brazil – Thiago Tavares invited Justin Salas to the ground early, and the American wanted none of it. Moments later, Tavares proved why.

After scooping up the wrestler for a big takedown, Tavares quickly went to work, took Salas’ back and locked up a rear-naked choke a little past the midway point of the first round.

The lightweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 32 event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Goias, Brazil. It streamed on MMAjunkie.com ahead of a main card on FOX Sports 1.

Salas ate a kick to the body before sprawling his way out of a takedown attempt from Tavares, who quickly went to his back wanting the American down on the canvas with him. But Salas didn’t take the bait and kicked at Tavares’ legs.

Referee Dan Miragliotta ordered the Brazilian up, where he was able to land a good combination. Moments later, he took Salas down. After the Grudge Training Center product got to his feet, Tavares scooped him up again for a power double.

From half-guard, Tavares worked for Salas’ neck, then ate a couple elbows that made him decide to punch away. Salas rolled over, Tavares took his back, and without much difficulty, he secured the rear-naked choke, getting Salas to tap at the 2:38 mark of the first round.

“I was scared to fight him because he’s dangerous,” Tavares said. “But I’ve been training a lot with Fabio Maldonado, who was teaching me boxing and muay Thai. And now I feel really happy to put on a good show for you guys. I need to fight in Jaragua do Sul (in February) because it’s close to my city – please give me a chance to fight there.”

Tavares (18-5-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) is back in the win column after a January loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov and has won three of his past four. Salas (11-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) heads back to the loss column after a July win over Aaron Riley. He now has lost two of his past three after a six-fight winning streak.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 32 results include:

• Thiago Tavares def. Justin Salas via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:38
• Adriano Martins def. Daron Cruickshank via submission (kimura) – Round 2, 2:49
• Dustin Ortiz def. Jose Maria via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:19

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 32, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Brazil.